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halcyon

HAL-see-uhn/ˈhælsi.ən/

Noun pluralhalcyons

5 meanings of halcyon

Practice

  1. 1
    peacefuladjective
    Calm, peaceful and happy, often said of a time in the past that people remember fondly.

    Like a quiet lake on a day with no wind.

    We still talk about those halcyon summers at the lake.

    It was a halcyon morning, with no wind and a clear blue sky.

    UsageUsually before a noun, most often in halcyon days: a happy time in the past.

    Similarpeaceful, calm, serene, tranquil, quiet

    Oppositeturbulent, stormy, troubled, tumultuous

    Note
  2. 2
    bird in mythnounliterarycountable
    A kingfisher that, in old Greek and Roman stories, made the gods calm the wind and waves while it nested.

    The old story says the sea stays calm while the halcyon sits on its nest.

    In the poem, a halcyon comes to the shore, and the storm stops at once.

    Similarkingfisher

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 3
    noun
    A kind of kingfisher that lives in hot parts of the world, like the woodland kingfisher of Africa.
  2. 4
    adjectiveliterary
    Having to do with the kingfisher, a bird also called a halcyon.
  3. 5
    nounliterary
    A dead kingfisher hung from a beam, which people long ago believed would point to where the wind came from.
    Renege, affirm, and turn their halcyon beaks / With every gale and vary of their master
    c. 1603, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”Here, halcyon means a dead kingfisher hung up to turn and show the wind.

Practice

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Origin

From an old Latin word meaning "kingfisher" (a kind of bird), which came from Ancient Greek.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts